One day after NFL player Jovan Belcher murdered the mother of his 3-month-old daughter and took his own life in the parking lot of the team’s practice facility, his Kansas City Chiefs took the field to play the Carolina Panthers, winning 27-21. Clearly, though, the mourning team’s victory was not the main story, as teammates, fans, and the media tried to make sense of the tragedy.
It was so awful that Bob Costas used his powerful perch during halftime of NBC’s primetime broadcast last night to bring attention to a gun-culture that he says makes such tragedies all too common. Quoting Kansas City-based sportswriter Jason Whitlock’s Saturday-night column, he said, “Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. … If Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.” Watch it below: READ FULL STORY »
